Antiques show draws the curious

CANAJOHARIE – Vendor Ed Moody showed up at the Arkell Museum before 10 a.m. Saturday with thousands of postcards from all over the world.

Throughout the day, area residents looked through his boxes of postcards, unsure of what they were going to find. Some purchased old picture postcards, while others moved along to view paintings, jewelry and antiques at the Eighth Annual Nellis Tavern Antiques Show.

After collecting antiques, Moody moved on to postcards more than seven years ago and built his collection to the thousands of cards he has today.

“I had my own collection in a little area in New Hampshire, and I ended up buying an album of some of the cards,” Moody said. “I used to do antiques, and now I just moved over to postcards.”

Hundreds of antiques enthusiasts lined up outside the museum before the 10 a.m. opening, eager to look at the array of antiques.

Donna Reston, event organizer and member of the Palatine Settlement Society, was very pleased with the turnout this year. Proceeds from the antique show help the society maintain the historic Nellis Tavern in St. Johnsville.

“I’d like people to come basically because it’s a beautiful museum here full of very high-end art … And I want them to know about the tavern,” she said. “And it brings all kinds of business to this area, and the Mohawk Valley needs people to know what’s here.”

Visitors had a chance to have their own antiques viewed by Dennis Holzman, a professional appraiser from Cohoes.

Holzman said he donates his appraising services once a month to non-profit organizations.

“I have a lot of information that I don’t mind sharing, especially if I can raise money for a good cause,” he said.

Holzman, who has been appraising for 40 years, explained that people usually come to him when they inherit collectables from family members and they don’t know what the items are worth. He said 95 percent of the items he looks at are “run-of-the-mill,” but every so often he’ll see one worth thousands of dollars.

Marj Aney of Johnstown brought Holzman a collection of baseball cards that she had inherited from her father. Holzman said the whole batch was worth about $200.

“I just wanted a rough idea of what they’re worth, not that I’m ready to sell them,” Aney said. ” … I did have good results, and at least I know what I have.”